Some good early season conditions at Blue Lake this weekend. No fat vertical ice but the gullies are surprisingly icy and hard, these and the surrounding slopes are great for alpine practice right now. Already a vertical to overhanging cornice forming at the top of the main gully, making for a dodgy top-out. Ice forming over the rocks, some weak carapaces as usual but looking like a good base. Plenty of options for toprope drytooling and mixed. Lake not frozen at all.

Good coverage across all the high tops, but super icy and hard packed. Bush down low. Road was open all the way to top of Charlottes, so now is a good time to take advantage before the start of the season.